Picket lines and political protest accompanied the sale of the 11.2-acre Irish Hospitals Sweepstakes site in Ballsbridge, Dublin, Eire, for IR£6.6m — one of the highest prices ever paid at auction for a property in the Irish Republic.
The 260,000 sq ft of vacant offices — sold on the instructions of Minister for Health Dr O’Hanlon — was auctioned by Aidan O’Hogan, of joint agents Hamilton Osborne King, at the St Stephen’s Green premises of Lisney & Son. The bidding started at the disclosed reserve price of £5,000 and was knocked down after three minutes.
The picket line outside the saleroom was made up of former Sweepstake employees protesting at what they claimed were inadequate redundancy payments. Dr Pat Lee, a Fine Gael city councillor, objected to admission being restricted to those who could produce bank drafts for IR£250,000 at the door. The auctioneers explained that this was necessary in order to give the sale credibility in the wake of two previous attempts to dispose of the property by private treaty. On the day, seven bidders produced the required bank draft.
The site’s freehold was bought on behalf of developers Studwicke by agents Palmer McCormack & Partners. The Dublin City development plan is currently being reviewed, but at present the site zoning permits a variety of office and residential uses. The Penta Hotel group — who made a bid for the site in February — are understood to have entered into an informal arrangement to build a hotel on part of the land.
